History UsefulNotes / Homophobia

* Hypersexuality: The related ideas that sex is the sum total of queer people's identities, and that all they think about and/or do involves sex.

There are people who feel an intolerable discomfort with the presence of other people (be it in media or on the street) who cannot be quickly and easily placed in the gender binary. [[TransEqualsGay The (at times false) equivalence of gender non-conformity with homosexuality]] generally serves to compound the dread. This is part of the nostalgia of the opening {{theme|Song}} from ''Series/AllInTheFamily'': one couplet runs, "And you knew where you were then/ Girls were girls and men were men." The book [[http://www.queerinjustice.com/ Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of [=LGBT=] People in the United States]] chronicles gender policing by law enforcement, from sumptuary laws "requir[ing] individuals to wear at least three articles of clothing conventionally associated with the gender they were assigned at birth", to the arrests and harassment of gender non-conformists for the "crime" known colloquially as "walking while trans", a concept and phrasing derived from the racially motivated charge of "driving while black". Such policing is often done in the name of protecting an area's "quality of life", again because those breaking gender norms are presumed to be involved with an outlaw sexuality (entailing "public lewdness" and/or prostitution). As the authors of ''Queer (In)Justice'' put it:

Anyone who fails to follow "normal" social rules for their gender can prompt a homophobic response. Specific social rules vary across cultures and historical periods [[labelnote:An example:]]In early 20th century America, PinkGirlBlueBoy was {{inverted|Trope}}; the colour pink was associated with boys and the colour blue was assigned to girls; pink wasn't strongly linked to femininity until the 1950s.[[/labelnote]], yet such rules often mandate categories for clothing and hairstyles, speech and body movement, behaviour and deportment, even [[AlwaysCamp career choices]]. Failure to adhere to these rules can be associated with homosexuality, and homophobic responses to such "violations" can be seen as [[HeteronormativeCrusader attempts to enforce so-called "traditional" social norms]] (see the infamous "the way you walk" scene from the 1956 film ''Film/TeaAndSympathy,'' excerpted in the 1995 documentary ''The Celluloid Closet''). As these rules contain a certain amount of misogyny, {{double standard}}s apply; women who cross gender lines may be given grudging respect (since they can be seen as trying to [[RealWomenDontWearDresses remedy their inferior femininity]]), while men face severe condemnation for lowering their status by being effeminate. That's why a {{tomboy}} gets less criticism than a [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide sissy]].

--> ...an individual's mere presence in public spaces is experienced as a disruption of the social order. Queer, transgender and gender non-conforming people are threatening because they place in question identities previously conceived as stable, unchallengeable, grounded and "known", which serve as critical tools of heterosexist culture.

The ButchLesbian and LipstickLesbian tropes can serve as a good example. First, the tropes can serve to push lesbians into choosing between simplistic masculinity and simplistic femininity. Second, the tropes themselves are exaggerated versions of what is viewed as normal masculinity and femininity, i.e. the tropes put up a pattern for behaviour that is simultaneously judged as abnormal — it's [[UnintentionalUncannyValley almost right and normal and whole, but not quite]].

The ButchLesbian and LipstickLesbian tropes can serve as a good example. First, the tropes can serve to push lesbians into choosing between simplistic masculinity and simplistic femininity. Second, the tropes themselves are exaggerated versions of what is viewed as normal masculinity and femininity, i.e. the tropes put up a pattern for behaviour that is simultaneously judged as abnormal — it's [[UncannyValley almost right and normal and whole, but not quite]].

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia According to Wikipedia]], homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, or intersex (LGBTQIA). Those negative attitudes motivate a full gamut of hostile actions, from ridicule and shunning, to bullying, vandalism, assault, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrective_rape corrective rape]] and murder. In essence, it is to the LGBT+ community what racism is to ethnic minorities.

The word "homophobia" has its critics. Some find it misleading since it implies fear rather than disgust or anger. It can also be argued that it implies an individual psychological problem as the root of negative attitudes towards queers as opposed to a socially reinforced prejudice. That said, homophobia has a linguistic staying power compared to other terms, which tend to be more obscure and often present pronunciation difficulties (try these on for size: "homoerotophobia", "homonegativity", "heteronormativity", "sexual prejudice" and "internalized sexual stigma"). In the 21st century, some people proposed the term "homomisia" as an alternative; taking note of how the Greek suffix "-misia" ''actually'' refers to hatred, unlike "-phobia," the idea is that the term more accurately describes the nature of the mindset while being less at risk of stigmatizing people with real clinical phobias. At the moment though, its usage is only among a minority of individuals, with "homophobia" still being the most common term.

There are other similar terms (such as "biphobia" and "transphobia") that refer to negative attitudes towards specific subsets of [=LGBTI=] people. For purposes of this wiki, "homophobia" is defined as negative attitudes towards or stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and/or gender non-conforming people.

!It's All About Sex--Or Is It?

Of course, trying to avoid one can easily lead you to another, like trying to avoid the hypersexuality so much that queer characters have no sexuality (which tends towards erasure). It's rather like steering a boat among shoals--overcompensate and you just run aground somewhere else.

Some religious leaders (usually those of a conservative or fundamentalist stripe) castigate [=LGBTI=] people from their pulpits and through media outlets. Sometimes religious groups (again the conservative/fundamentalist sort) campaign for laws that penalize [=LGBTI=] people, while others have no need to lobby the government since they ''are'' the government, or at least an influential part of it.

Most people don't wish to be seen as any kind of bigot, and many if not most people who express homophobic views don't believe themselves to be bigoted. People confronted over their homophobia are apt to [[SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX claim they have known and befriended gay people]] or [[NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat deny they intended any insult or criticism]]. For those with religious objections, the "love the sinner, hate the sin'' meme is the preferred defense. This defense rests on several key beliefs:
-->1) Sex is primarily for procreation, and any other functions (meeting emotional needs, experiencing pleasure, or maintaining PC muscle tone) are incidental at best and sinful at worst.\\
2) Same-sex desires do not come from a natural or healthy inclination, but rather from the fallen nature of mankind, mental illness, sexual abuse, and/or demonic possession (Seriously: Watch Pat Robertson discuss this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iTBHwG1bAo this excerpt from his television program, ''The 700 Club'']]).\\
3) By pointing out items one and two to [=LGBT=] people and trying to convince or coerce them to agree and give up gay sex lives, the believers are doing the gay sinners a big favour (saving them from Hell).

[[ValuesDissonance Of course, for people who disagree with any or all of these items, the professions of "love" ring hollow.]]

Some religious leaders (usually those of a conservative or fundamentalist stripe) castigate [=LGBTI=] people from their pulpits and in any media outlets, their social status can open for them. Sometimes religious groups (again the conservative/fundamentalist sort) campaign for laws that penalize [=LGBTI=] people, while others have no need to lobby the government since they ''are'' the government, or at least an influential part of it. Such religious folk use passages in their holy books (the "gotcha" verses in [[Literature/TheBible the Christian Bible]][[note]]including Genesis chapters 18 and 19, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (all King James Version)[[/note]], for example) plus church dogma to support their views; they generally assert those books to be at least divinely inspired (if not the inerrant Word of God), and on that basis, they hold those books' authority to be unquestionable.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia According to Wikipedia]], homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, or intersex (LGBTQIA). Those negative attitudes motivate a full gamut of hostile actions, from ridicule and shunning, to bullying, vandalism, assault, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrective_rape corrective rape]] and murder.

The word "homophobia" has its critics. Some find it misleading since it implies fear rather than disgust or anger. It can also be argued that it implies an individual psychological problem as the root of negative attitudes towards queers as opposed to a socially reinforced prejudice. That said, homophobia has a linguistic staying power compared to other terms, which tend to be more obscure and often present pronunciation difficulties (try these on for size: "homoerotophobia", "homonegativity", "heteronormativity", "sexual prejudice" and "internalized sexual stigma"). In the 21st century, some people proposed the term "homomisia" as an alternative; taking note of how the Greek suffix "-misia" ''actually'' refers to hatred, unlike "-phobia," the idea is that the term more accurately describes the nature of the mindset while being less at risk of stigmatizing people with real clinical phobias. At the moment though, its usage is only among a minority of individuals, with "homophobia" still being the most common terms.

The word "homophobia" has its critics. Some find it misleading since it implies fear rather than disgust or anger. It can also be argued that it implies an individual psychological problem as the root of negative attitudes towards queers as opposed to a socially reinforced prejudice. That said, homophobia has a linguistic staying power compared to other terms, which tend to be more obscure and often present pronunciation difficulties (try these on for size: "homoerotophobia", "homonegativity", "heteronormativity", "sexual prejudice" and "internalized sexual stigma").